


good for nothing

by Lulatic



Series: Modern AU [1]
Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Abusive Parent, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Character Study, Controlling Parent, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Introspection, Light Angst, Unhealthy Relationships, Vulnerability, Zag and Hypnos are roommates, Zag has been gone away against his will, its just a small au idea and way of establishing hypnos i guess, this is a fic where everything is kinda between the lines
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:08:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23195269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lulatic/pseuds/Lulatic
Summary: "Do you regret leaving?"
Relationships: Hypnos & Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Series: Modern AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1667617
Kudos: 79





	good for nothing

**Author's Note:**

> this is just an idea i had of like. a conversation or confrontation between modern au zag and hypnos that i wanted to write out to sorta get used to it and i guess. figure out what i want to do w em? idk!

The loud, wall-rocking  _ slam  _ of his front door is what shocks Hypnos wide awake. The white noise of the old TV still droned on from when he’d fallen asleep, now looping the end credits of… whatever  _ Lord of the Rings  _ movie he had been watching. He couldn’t really remember. It simply played white fuzzy light over the dim, small den; it nearly muffled the quiet sound of footsteps and movements.

He let out a pitiful whine, brushing grey curls away from over his eyes. The old, tattered couch had swallowed him up between flat couch cushions. He scrambled to pull himself upright, kicking out as he struggled through the mangled thin blanket wrapped around him. 

Hypnos flinched when a light flicked on, oozing in from the hall behind him and soaking the dim room with it. He craned his neck back, squinting and wrinkling his nose. 

A figure stood in it-- the distant sound of a door creaking open for the first time in so long reinforced Hypnos’s assumptions. “Zagreus?” 

He stopped as if caught red handed, shoulders up to his ears and one foot in his bedroom door. Hypnos just watched him, neck kinked as he sat looking at him over the couch. He couldn’t quite see Zagreus clearly, the dusty flickering old light in the hall not doing any favours; it just managed to bask him in shadows. 

Still, it was undoubtedly Zagreus. No one else save for Nyx even knew where Hypnos lived, leaving only the other part-time tenant who now stood like he was an intruder.

Zag didn’t say anything, no doubt over thinking and stressing over Hypnos’s extended silence. He let him squirm a bit longer, watching Zagreus shuffle on his feet slightly, turn as if considering bolting into his room for a moment. Hypnos chuckled, deciding to have some mercy for once. “Zag, it’s been a while, huh!”

That almost seemed to surprise him more, as if suspecting some sort of reprimand or choice words on Hypnos’s part. But he quickly got over that, sighing and letting the tension leave his tight shoulders. As he stepped into the living room, Hypnos struggled up to his feet. He stretched his arms above his head and rolled his shoulders, groaning at the feeling of something popping in his back. 

“I kept your room all spick and span,” Hypnos lied, watching Zagreus walk past the couch and to the small, wide open kitchen. “In fact, I left it just how  _ you  _ left it! The door hasn’t even been opened in weeks! You’re welcome.”

Zag struggled to yank open the fridge, the whole thing seeming to shake with the second tug as the door finally gave way. Hypnos watched him shuffle through it’s minimal contents, only giving out a low whine and a pout of protest when Zagreus grabbed a can of his ginger ale. He shot Hypnos a smile, not keeping eye contact for long. “Why thank you, Hypnos,” he hummed simply, cracking open the can. 

With one breath, he threw back his head, chugging the whole can in one go. Hypnos just stared at him as he sighed, tossing the can into the weathered sink. He hummed some tune that’s been stuck in his head, not really paying Zag any mind as he sidled up into the kitchen beside him. He started picking at the clean, dry dishes on a rack beside the sink, more to do something with his hands rather than to be productive. 

“So,” He hummed, fingers catching on the chips and cracks in all their mismatched mugs. “Guessin’ Meg gave you a hard time this time ‘round, huh? I mean, the last time it only took you a few days to get back, not--”

“Half a month?” Zag supplied helpfully, now opting to go for Hypnos’s leftover Thai food. Hypnos hoped that he noticed his glare as he struggled with the old, dodgy microwave, but of course he didn’t quite capture it. 

“Nearly three weeks,” Hypnos corrects, “actually. You were five days and about ten hours past the two week mark but, hey! Who’s keeping track, right?” Zagreus chuckles, sounding closer to a wheeze, but Hypnos still takes it as a win. He seems to go to say something, the loud static  _ beep  _ of the microwave cutting him off. 

He cussed, nearly dropping the hot plate of stir fry. He huffed, sticking his burnt finger in his mouth. Hypnos blinked, frowning. He had to bite into his tongue to keep from commenting on the bruises and cuts over his knuckles, biting hard enough to taste blood. 

“Yeah, who’s keeping track…” He huffed, poking at the food before pushing it to the back of the counter and letting it cool. He sighed, turned around and leaned back against the counter. Hypnos watched him out of the corner of his eye as he strung his fingers through his hair. 

“Yeah, Meg was as adamant as ever,” he laughed, more fond and caring than anything else. “She saw me more than two feet from any exit out of father’s home, and she’d be there in seconds.” 

“She still uses that whip, right?”

“Oh, god!” Zag threw his head back with a laugh, lilting his head in Hypnos’s direction. “She sure fucking does! Frankly, I don’t think that’s legal at all.” He stopped, hesitated a moment, a hand smoothing over the back of his neck. “Although, I guess that doesn’t really matter to lovely ol’ father, huh?” 

Hypnos laughed as if that was a genuine joke, not Zagreus’s deep-seeded struggles chuckled away. “As if Our Majesty Hades doesn’t have a hand over the law too, hah!” He wrinkled his nose, a lazy smirk in Zag’s direction. “Although I’m sure you’re intimately familiar with that.”

Zagreus frowned, lapsing into unnerving silence that was not characteristic of him at all. No doubt Hypnos’s fault; it wasn’t the first time, and wasn’t the last. Both purposefully and inadvertently creating discomfort or tension was his specialty. 

He did maybe feel a little bad, this time. 

Hypnos went to break the silence with something. Probably not words of ‘sorry’ or ‘hope you’re doing well after practically being held hostage by your batshit crazy dad for so long’ all things considered. It didn’t matter anyways; Zagreus beat him to it. 

“Do you regret leaving?” 

They were two very different people. Honestly, Hypnos didn’t really know how exactly they managed to get along in the way that they did. Different interests, different ideas of who they were and what they amounted to as people. But on this they were in silent agreement; they didn’t talk about the realities of everything they both had been through, and were continuously going through. 

Hypnos bit into the flesh of his cheek. He tapped his fingers against the counter, staring into the now empty sink. Frankly, he knew the implications behind that simple question, but he didn’t  _ understand  _ why it was such a big deal. 

“Nope!” He said, too chipper. He turned away from Zagreus, arms stretched above his head with a yawn. “Really, The House was always too loud. No good places to get some decent shut eye.” 

Zagreus didn’t say anything as he moved back to the couch, finally turning off the blu-ray player as he curled back amid the blankets and pillows. 

He didn't just 'leave'; Zagreus wasn't asking if he'd go back to working for Hades, living under his control. Really, he was asking how he managed to do it, to get out so easily, to stay unnoticed. Not once had he been dragged back like Zagreus did so constantly. Or how his own apartment apparently was completely unknown to Hades and the cops or crooks he sent out to confront Zag. Although that one was too much of a blessing to be questioned. 

Maybe he was jealous. Maybe he wanted pointers, to know the how and why. Maybe he'd be disappointed with the answer being that Hypnos was so unnoticeable. Hypnos couldn't tell, couldn't bother to think on it anymore. 

“I won’t either,” Zagreus said lowly, "once I'm free like you." his words unheard as Hypnos drifted off to sleep yet again.

**Author's Note:**

> FRANKLY i still dont know if this is worth posting at all but i hope at least someone out there digs my ideas. Here's some slight info on like. the 'between the lines' ideas
> 
> \- Hades is a major politicial/wealthy figure in this town. he practically has control over everyone and everything in it.   
> \- Zagreus is constantly trying to get out of The House and out of town but Hades has control over his finances, living situation, attempts at employment, even his criminal record. Hades uses all that to drag him back to The House under the guise of 'house arrest' of his 'troubled son'  
> \- The House refers to the massive main building that Hades's business is located it; it's a skyscraper that most/all important staff are expected to live in as well. Hypnos formerly lived there. basically all House of Hades characters live there now  
> \- Hypnos worked as a secretary/host/bellhop and would keep track of guests and such.   
> \- he 'got out' because he was always devalued as the 'failure' and compared to his twin than, who is the head of finances for Hades' business  
> \- Hades tried to bar him from leaving too, because he has control issues ofc. no one is really sure how he managed to get out and now stays under the radar so well. he's kinda off grid  
> \- (the reason for above is because Chaos helped him and continues to keep his apartment unknown)


End file.
